Papeete, French Polynesia Photo: 123rf
A court in Paris has given lengthy jail sentences to 11 people for their role in smuggling more than a ton of cocaine through French Polynesia.
Those convicted, who range in age from 27 to 78, were found guilty of being part of a network using yachts to ship cocaine from the Americas towards Australia.
The head of the operation, 65-year-old Frenchman Pascal Coulombel was imprisoned for 17 years and his wife Yahaira for 12 years.
The others, who are from Spain, Italy, Portugal and Panama, were given sentences between five and 11 years.
The 78-year-old was spared imprisonment for health reasons.
The group has also been jointly fined $US53 million.
In 2017, four yachts linked to the group were intercepted in French Polynesia with hundreds of kilos of the drug concealed.
The suspects were initially due to be tried in French Polynesia, but the matter was later transferred to a court in France.